A watch crown is the knob on the outside of the body of the watch that is used to set the time of the watch and a variety of other functions. In a mechanical watch, the crown knob may be used to wind the mainspring. Standard watch crowns are located outside of the watch casing and protrude from the watch, which enables the user to grip and pull the crown to adjust the time and other features on the watch. To operate the watch crown, the user will pull the knob outward away from the watch to adjust the time, and then push the crown back towards the watch to set the time.
Generally, when a watch is worn on the left wrist, the watch crown protrudes from the right side of the watch. Similarly, when a watch is worn on the right wrist, the watch crown protrudes from the left side of the watch. This allows the user to easily access the watch crown with his/her opposite hand to adjust the time or other features of the watch. A drawback of standard watch crowns is that they can be uncomfortable. For example, standard watch crowns protrude from the watch body, which can cause discomfort and irritation because of the watch crown digging into the user's wrist or hand.